sports

Formula One saw a rise in worldwide audience figures across television and digital platforms in 2018, the Liberty media-owned sport reported on Friday. It said Brazil, China and the United States represented the top three markets in terms of television reach — largely a consequence of new or revised broadcast deals in those countries.

After an abrupt departure, former ESPN president John Skipper is trying to beat his former employer at its own game with DAZN (pronounced “da zone”), a subscription streaming service with an odd name and big plans to disrupt sports broadcasting.

The Murdoch family’s new Fox needs Madison Avenue to buy commercials in an abundance of sports broadcasts. Seth Winter will take on the job of selling them. Winter, the former head of NBC Sports ad sales, is joining Fox in a similar role, taking over a critical position at the company as it focuses more intently on live programming and sports content.

The Department of Justice is prepared to put the ball back in Disney’s court for unloading Fox’s regional sports networks, saving Disney from a fire sale and billions of dollars in losses, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said. Justice is poised to allow Disney to spin off the control of Fox’s 22 regional sports networks to complete its $71 billion deal for Fox, one of the sources said, as opposed to finding an actual buyer.

The return of divisional playoff football to Los Angeles proved a winner for Fox, and NBC’s final NFL telecast of the season also posted stellar numbers as the NFL’s TV ratings comeback shows no signs of faltering. NBC was up 8% and Fox was up 25%.

The Super Bowl may be the biggest sports wagering event in the United States each year, but announcers will not be talking about betting during the broadcast of the big game next month, CBS said on Thursday.